I know this crush ain't going away

It was revealed at church this morning that there was to be a spontaneous youth fireside in Kirtland tonight. And that the speaker would be - oh - David Archuleta. Yeah, that David Archuleta. He is in town for his tour with Demi Levato and just may be an aquaintance of our new mission president. I wasn't going to go, since I don't technically have "youth" in my family, but when the stake president's wife said I should totally take Emma and Leah, I totally did!

I thought it would be a total mob scene, but when we pulled into the church parking lot, there was ample parking and a second row seat (!) in the chapel. For the kids, at least. They asked the adults to move the overflow seating in the back. Emma stayed in front with her cool older friends, but Leah wanted to hang with me in the back row. I think Leah was a little overwhelmed with anticipation and uncertainty. She just didn't know what to expect--was it going to be a mob scene of screaming teenage girls? That would be too much for her to handle. I tried to reassure her that it was going to be a very calm, normal fireside, but she hasn't had too many experiences with those, either, so she just stuck close.

After several reminders to keep quiet and reverent, and a couple announcements that there was to be absolutely NO PHOTOGRAPHY, in walked little Brother Archuleta. The opening hymn was "The Spirit of God" and I thought Holy cow, David Archuleta is going to sing The Spirit of God! Like, he knows the words! Very cool.

From a different fireside where they did allow photography (whatever!) but I think he wore the exact same thing for ours!

He then began the evening by singing "I am a Child of God." Let me just say that the boy can sing. Like for real. It was funny because he was was rambling and talking in circles while telling his stories and admittedly did not have a way with words. But when he starts singing, he is amazingly eloquent. He definitely expresses himself through music. After he sang "Be Still, My Soul" I was ready for him to release a CD of church hymns. And by the time he ended with an a capella version of "How Great Thou Art," I was completely converted.

As I listened to him speak, I was impressed by his humility and desire to be a good example and stay true to his standards. He's just a good boy. He made me happy. And I am so glad the girls had this experience and that I got to share it with them.

And I might try a little harder to find some tickets to the concert tomorrow night for Brooke's birthday...